Brown Recluse Vs House Spider: What Are Differences?

Table Of Content

• Brown Recluse vs House Spider: Behavior
• How do the behaviors and habitats of house spiders and brown recluses differ?
• Number of eyes
• How to Make Your Brown Recluse Spider Traps Highly Effective
• Differences Between Brown Recluse vs House Spider
• This is a blog about spiders (and other arachnids)
• Ways to get rid and prevent brown recluse from your home

In many cases, the spider has crawled into a clothing item or a shoe and bites when you put the item on. While commonly spotted near water bodies, they can also be found in damp areas of homes. They’re known for their ability to “walk on water” and hunt aquatic and terrestrial prey. They’re large, dark brown with pale markings, and equipped with water-repellent hairs.

Brown Recluse vs House Spider: Behavior

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The brown recluse is a common and widespread brown spider that is found only in the central and southern parts of the United States. “The hobo spider can inflict a painful bite that results in localized red swelling and some pain, but no necrotic lesion,” Potzler says. Usually, symptoms will get better within 24 hours with OTC painkillers and ice.

How do the behaviors and habitats of house spiders and brown recluses differ?

Almost all spiders have the ability to bite, but the fangs of most spiders are too small to penetrate human skin. Spider bites, including bites by the brown recluse, cause only a few deaths per year in the U.S., usually in children. In the United States, only two spiders have a medically significant bite. Others, like the yellow sac spider and hobo spider, have been reported as having painful bites, but this isn’t yet proven.

Number of eyes

As the old wives tale has it, these are the most dangerous spider with their venom being the most lethal, but their mouths and fangs are too small to bite a human. They are almost transparent, which helps them hide in plain sight. Females are slightly larger than males, growing to 8mm in body length.

Dark or orange-brown, domestic house spiders have a pale mark on the breastplate. Woodlouse spiders have reddish heads and gray abdomens with robust bodies. They can be found in damp areas under rocks and logs outdoors, in basements, or under floorboards in homes. They specifically prey on woodlice and are not known to be harmful to humans.

Color patterns and markings

Of those rare bites the vast majority of bites can be effectively treated with RICE (rest, ice, compression, and elevation) without any dire consequences. Unlike most spider species, brown recluse spiders only have six eyes. They have three pairs of eyes, which differs from most spiders who have eight eyes arranged in two rows of four. A brown recluse spider has a darker patch that is wider near the eyes and narrows like a violin as it moves towards the spider's abdomen.

The brown recluse is all-brown with a violin shape on its back, while the house spider is brown with stripes on its cephalothorax and a zigzag pattern on its abdomen. If you happen to know what bit you, let your healthcare provider know. But informing your provider will keep them more alert for specific loxoscelism symptoms, and help them to prepare treatment options in case symptoms develop. It’s not uncommon to confuse the male southern house spider with a  brown recluse. The majority of brown recluse bites will heal after three weeks if the bite is not severe.

This is a blog about spiders (and other arachnids)

Spotting a spider in your immediate vicinity can be a little intense, especially if you have a major fear of the creepy crawlers. And with different species come different levels of concern—which makes learning how to identify the critters important. They have a tan to dark brown color range but have no particular stripes, bands, or spots on their backs. The most distinguishing feature of a brown recluse is the violin-shaped mark on its back, and the head of the violin always points toward the spider’s abdomen.

Ways to get rid and prevent brown recluse from your home

In serious cases, an untreated and infected wound could be life-threatening. Beyond redness, itchiness, and general pain, you won’t experience any other symptoms unless you’re allergic to spider venom. An over-the-counter antihistamine or pain reliever should make you feel better; all symptoms will disappear after a few days. When possible, Crumbley advocates for catching spiders and releasing them back outdoors. Spiders are relatively easy pests to get rid of, says Emma Grace Crumbley, entomologist for Mosquito Squad. Bug experts explain the spiders that like to creep indoors and whether or not their bites can harm you.

They are common indoors during January and are completely harmless to humans. Males have orange or yellow towards the carapace that darkens to brown in the front. Females can grow to 20mm in body length and 60mm in leg span with males being smaller.

It is often seen weaving its webs in corners and crevices of homes. Many people mistake the brown recluse for the house spider because they’re often found hiding in homes, but it’s an important distinction you need to make. The brown recluse bite can be potentially dangerous, so you will need to recognize the spider you have in your room so you can avoid these bites.

Brown recluse spiders are typically one solid light brown color except for the dark brown violin-shaped marking on their heads. The brown recluse, also known as the brown recluse black widow spider in some regions of America, has a very distinct eye pattern that can help in identifying them. They have six eyes, whereas most common house spiders have eight.

In the recluse's case, this marking is a violin-shaped patch of dark pigmentation on the top of the head immediately behind the eyes. The recluse's body is brown, but the violin marking is notably darker than the surrounding tissue. In contrast, the house spider does not possess such distinct markings. While the two spiders have a similar body color, the house spider's markings appear as flecks or an amorphous dark patch of pigment. House spiders also have dark rings on their eight limbs, while recluses maintain uniform coloring, according to NC State University Cooperative Extension. If you are concerned about spider bites, it is important to understand the potential risks and implications of each bite.

A house spider has no such pattern and is uniform in color on the cephalothorax. The giant house spider is a dark brown spider with lighter markings on the sternum. There are three light spots on each side, that form an arrow shape that points towards the spider’s head.